Justin Elicker is serving his second term as the 51st Mayor of New Haven. Since taking office, he has led New Haven with one goal: Create a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, no matter which neighborhood you live in.
In addition to leading us through the pandemic, Mayor Elicker and his team have worked to make New Haven a safer, more equitable, and prosperous community.
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New Haven undoubtedly has more work to do. But we have made so much progress together. Mayor Elicker is excited to continue working toward a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Accomplishments
Below are a few of Mayor Elicker's top accomplishments across New Haven since taking office in 2020:
BUDGET · PUBLIC SAFETY · EDUCATION · HOUSING · ENVIRONMENT
BUDGET
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Under Mayor Elicker’s leadership, New Haven is on its strongest financial footing in decades. After establishing a debt limit, building a $37 million rainy day fund, three years of budget surpluses and investing more than ever in our pensions, New Haven’s credit rating has been upgraded and we are on a pathway toward long-term financial stability.
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Mayor Elicker negotiated the end to New Haven’s annual $1 million subsidy for Tweed airport.
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Mayor Elicker’s administration in partnership with our state delegation, community leaders and Unite Here has significantly increased New Haven’s revenue from the State and Yale. In partnership with our state delegation, Mayor Elicker led a coalition of 28 mayors and selectpersons across the state to advocate for changes to Connecticut’s PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) Program resulting in $49 million in additional annual funding for New Haven. Mayor Elicker also worked with community leaders and UNITE Here to secure an additional $10 million annually from Yale University.
PUBLIC SAFETY
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Mayor Elicker’s #1 job is keeping your family safe. He and his team have implemented a multi-pronged public safety strategy that expands alternative policing programs such as Elm City COMPASS, and PRESS while continuing to provide the NHPD the resources they need to prevent violence, respond quickly, and hold those who commit crimes accountable.
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Under Mayor Elicker’s leadership, New Haven has expanded evidenced-based programming on violence interruption such as Project Longevity and Project Safe Neighborhoods, improved the delivery of services and support to at-risk youth through Youth Connect, and expanded regional partnerships by launching the shooting task force.
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In 2023, NHPD has already taken over 129 illegal guns off the street and significantly improved the homicide clearance rate.
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New Haven is taking steps towards smarter policing with investments to install 500 new security cameras across the city to help law enforcement identify those who commit crimes. Other technological upgrades such as implementing Shot Spotter to improve response time by notifying police of shots fired within 45 seconds.
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Most importantly, Mayor Elicker has invested tens of millions of dollars into historically under-resourced communities to expand youth programming, open more youth and community centers, expand opportunities for housing and jobs and more. Ultimately we cannot end gun violence with policing. It requires long-term investment in those who have been impacted by mass incarceration.
EDUCATION
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Mayor Elicker wants to ensure every family has the support and resources they need to get their kids through their K-12 education.
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In addition to naming Dr. Madeline Negron as the new NHPS Superintendent with unanimous support from the Board of Education, Mayor Elicker’s administration increased our school’s budget by $8 million in 2023. This increase in education funding will allow New Haven to increase teacher compensation, expand tutoring programs, open new youth and community centers, and ensure families have access to the resources needed to get their children to graduation. Mayor Elicker was also a lead participating in state-wide advocacy to push for increased Educational Cost Share Funding which lead to millions more coming to New Haven Public Schools as well.
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Under Mayor Elicker’s leadership, tieh City is prioritizing reading and math supports for New Haven school children, embracing the Science of Reading and launching new reading curriculum in the 2023 school year, investing $3M in summer and afterschool tutoring support, and expanding the direct family engagement resources to ensure children are fully engaged in school and have the supports they need.
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Mayor Elicker’s administration has designated $8 million into the expansion of vocational educational programs with the goal of creating a Career Pathways School to ensure every child has a pathway to capture a good job with a living wage. The City is also working collaboratively with the state to locate Gateway Community College’s Automotive School in New Haven to benefit New Haven residents.
HOUSING
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Since taking office, Mayor Elicker and his team have been implementing a comprehensive plan to expand affordable housing in New Haven. Since 2020 New Haven has created over 900 new and renovated affordable and deeply affordable units and has an additional 900+ units in the pipeline.
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Mayor Elicker’s Administration has also spearheaded an inclusionary zoning law requiring developments to include affordable units and invested millions to increase access to emergency housing, support renters, hold landlords accountable, and require new developments to include affordable housing.
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In partnership with local non-profits, New Haven has re-housed over 1,200 individuals experiencing homelessness since Mayor Elicker took office.
ENVIRONMENT
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Mayor Elicker’s administration has created an office of climate sustainability and allocated $5 million to execute climate-focused initiatives such as electrifying city buildings and expanding composting programs for organic waste.
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Mayor Elicker is implementing the ‘Solar For All’ campaign in partnership with PosiGen which covers the cost of installing solar panels for lower-income homeowners and saves households approximately $900 per year in energy costs.
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Alongside partners like Urban Resources and Emerge who work to foster community engagement and support returning citizens New Haven has invested $250,000 this year in planting trees across the city.
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In addition, under Mayor Elicker’s leadership, the city has expanded its active transportation network, installing traffic calming, cycletracks and other bicycle infrastructure and more. Perhaps most exciting are some projects in the pipeline - the city has secured millions to build the shoreline greenway to connect Downtown to Lighthouse Point through a bike path; the city is working closely with the state to create a Bus Rapid Transit line to facilitate more people using bus lines that are predictable, reliable and fast; and the city has secured $12 million in state dollars to dramatically expand Long Wharf Park including improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.